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The agent for San Diego State head football coach Brady Hoke said he couldn’t discuss Hoke’s potential candidacy to become the new Michigan head coach and said Michigan has “done a really good job” of keeping the job search quiet.

“I really can’t say,” said Trace Armstrong, Hoke’s agent, when asked about Hoke and Michigan. “I wish I could tell you more, but that’s really where it stands.”

Armstrong did confirm that Hoke is not a candidate for the vacancy at Pittsburgh.

He said Hoke has been in San Diego recruiting this week.

Asked about the Michigan search process in general, Armstrong said, “They’ve done a really good job of keeping it quiet. Dave Brandon (Michigan’s athletic director) is running the search, and I think he’s keeping his own counsel on that. I wish I could help you more, but I can’t.”

Armstrong made a point of saying he and Hoke have been “very straightforward” with San Diego State about what is happening on the job front.

“They’ve been great to deal with,” Armstrong said. “I’m very impressed with Jim Sterk (SDSU’s Athletic Director) and everybody there. When we’ve had things to tell them, we’ve told them, and that’s the way we’re going to be.”

Sterk said he was not aware of any contact or meeting with Hoke and Michigan. Coaching searches often are conducted in secrecy so that the universities don’t lose face if they don’t get their top candidates. Likewise potential candidates often don’t want it known that they are in the hunt for other jobs because it can make them appear uncommitted to their current employer and recruits.

In this case, Michigan may be considering other options first because it is aware Hoke likely would take the job if offered and that salary would not be an issue. Hoke, a former Michigan assistant coach, told SDSU President Stephen Weber when he interviewed for the SDSU job in late 2008 that the Michigan job was his ultimate career goal. Louisiana State head coach Les Miles - a former Michigan teammate of Brandon's from the early 1970s -- also has been speculated as a candidate for the job. His team was playing in the Cotton Bowl in Texas Friday night.

Hoke’s base compensation last year was $675,000. On Wednesday, Michigan fired coach Rich Rodriguez, who was making $2.5 million.

SDSU announced a new contract for Hoke on Dec. 6, but because that agreement has not been signed, it is not in force, according to the university. That means Hoke still is under the terms of his old contract, which lasts through 2013. The old contract also has a buyout that dropped from $1.5 million to $1 million on Dec. 15. Sterk said on Dec. 6 the new contract would run through 2015 and would keep the buyout at $1.5 million for another year. Because that agreement hasn’t been signed and finalized, Hoke’s old contract -- and $1 million buyout -- is in effect in the meantime.

“The new agreement (with Hoke announced Dec. 6) is still a draft document,” SDSU spokesman Jack Beresford said. “Until it is finalized, it is not binding and we will abide by Coach Hoke’s original contract.”